Plant Trees For Your Environment

Trees and C02

Climate change is the result of releasing excessive amounts of carbon dioxide (C02) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by trees, plants and crops through photosyntheseis. It is stored as carbon in trees and plants-in tree trunks, branches, foliage and roots. It is also held in soil.

Because trees store carbon, planting more trees is a way to lessen the impact of climate change- but this means planting trees at a much quicker pace than is currently being done.

According to research in North America, the average rate at which a growing forest sequesters carbon is 6.5 tons/ha/year (estimated as trees being spaced at 3m x 3m spacing).

The goal of the GRCA planting program is to put at least 200,000 trees into the ground each year.

That many trees would sequester 1172 tons of carbon per year. The amount would grow each year as the first trees matured and new trees were added. By the 20th year, 246,120 tons of carbon would be sequestered.

Working Trees

Due to the many benefits of trees to farms, businesses, parks, forests and school yards, people sometimes call them working trees. The 2004 Grand River Forest Plan lists 28 benefits of trees including: